


The End of the World

by Butterfly



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-04-07
Updated: 2003-04-07
Packaged: 2017-10-26 18:35:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/286577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butterfly/pseuds/Butterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Variations on a theme.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The End of the World

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a challenge at [sunday100](http://sunday100.livejournal.com/).

  
**Solo**   


She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting.

Something big and flashy, maybe. Evil had always been a fan of big and flashy.

Instead, there was peace and calm and a certainty that she hadn't felt since the grave.

Spike was dust and Dawn was gone. She hadn't seen Willow and Giles since the beginning of this last battle.

She should be worried about them. She should be trying to stop this from happening. Stop the world from ending.

But the soft light was beautiful and clean and she knew that it would all end soon.

She was finally going home.

  
**Duet**   


In retrospect, it all seemed rather obvious.

Focus the Slayer's attention _here_ while the world is ending over _there_. Make us think that it wanted Spike, when in reality...

It was an absurdly simple maneuver and he should have seen it sooner. He should have realized that the First was merely playing with them. That he was falling right into its plan by panicking and over-reacting.

Of course, he thought grimly as he watched Buffy die all over again, spotting that now was of no help whatsoever.

He closed his eyes, having failed her again, and let it all end.

  
**Trio**   


All her so-called power and she couldn't stop this from happening.

If only she could get enough air, or move her hands, she could do something.

If only she could move at all.

It had all started before she'd had a chance to think, a chance to act, and now...

Almost everyone was dead.

She'd waited too long.

She hadn't paid enough attention. She hadn't seen it coming. Once she'd been saved, she'd thrown it all away and now it was too late to fix it.

It was too late to do anything but wait for death.

Her oldest friend.

  
**Quartet**   


It had all made sense when Jesse had explained it.

But now, looking at what he'd done, it didn't anymore.

Nothing made sense anymore.

Everything had started unraveling when Anya had...

No, it was before that. It all started when Buffy came back. Or when she'd died.

The first time. The second? Was this her third or her fourth?

He'd had no idea it would be so easy. When someone's just the background, when no one's watching you, everything is so simple.

Even killing everyone you know.

Xander looked into the eyes of the First, and he saw his friends.

  
_the end_   



End file.
